Action, Relief, Etc.

[PTProfessor]

My apologies if this has been asked in the past, but is there an ideal order of operations when setting up an acoustic guitar in terms of both action and relief?

[Misty44]

I go down the neck:

• Nut action
• Relief
• Saddle action
• (Intonation if required)

Relief won't affect nut action, but may affect saddle height, so the first two bullets could be switched. But I like the top-down order!

[LouieAtienza]

In my personal opinion the relief should be set first before anything. You won't know what you have until you have the neck where you want it first. You can capo II then set the relief to take the nut out of the equation. I can't tell you how many new nuts I had to make because someone filed the nut slots down, then straightened out the neck only to find the strings buzzing when strummed open.

[John Arnold]

I can't tell you how many new nuts I had to make because someone filed the nut slots down, then straightened out the neck only to find the strings buzzing when strummed open.

That only occurs because the nut height has been set by measuring the action at the first fret. If you set the nut height the same as the frets (where it should be), you won't have that problem.
Check the nut height by pressing the string down against the second fret. The string should barely clear the first fret. Alternately, place a thin straightedge in the nut slot, resting it on the second fret. It should be flush with the first fret.
If you use this method, there is no reason to ever measure the action at the first fret.

[LouieAtienza]

Originally Posted by John Arnold

That only occurs because the nut height has been set by measuring the action at the first fret. If you set the nut height the same as the frets (where it should be), you won't have that problem.
Check the nut height by pressing the string down against the second fret. The string should barely clear the first fret. Alternately, place a thin straightedge in the nut slot, resting it on the second fret. It should be flush with the first fret.
If you use this method, there is no reason to ever measure the action at the first fret.

Yes I understand that; I was merely referring to problems I encountered when doing repairs that other people did beforehand. I use a piece of paper as a gauge between string and first fret while fretting the second fret.

Coincidentally (and I didn't mention this earlier) while I have the capo on the 2nd fret to check and adjust relief, I check the nut action by measuring the gap between the first fret and the strings with the paper method.

[Freddieb]

How about using a feeler gauge the same thickness as the fret height and cutting the nut down to that height?

Originally Posted by Freddieb

How about using a feeler gauge the same thickness as the fret height and cutting the nut down to that height?

That would work, but only if the fretboard is true. I find that it sometimes dips slightly at the nut, probably due to the sanding block running off the end. It gets sanded just a little more there. I'm sure there are other ways it could happen.

Frank Ford explains the method John outlined on frets.com, and includes photos. That's the method I use.

[Ned Milburn]

I prefer to set relief, saddle, then nut action. As long as the result is good, order can vary.

[murrmac123]

Originally Posted by PTProfessor

My apologies if this has been asked in the past, but is there an ideal order of operations when setting up an acoustic guitar in terms of both action and relief?

The very first thing that should be ascertained is that the fret tops are level when the neck is straight (either by the trussrod or a neck jig) .

Once that has been established, ( and the frets dressed and recrowned if necessary ), then the conventional relief/saddle/nut approach can be implemented.

I may be in a minority of one here, but I never measure the height of the nut slot ... I use stacked feeler gauges to ensure that I have a few thou of clearance when doing the roughing slot filing, and then do the final adjustment on each individual string just by feel , one string at a time, and carefully doing one stroke at a time with the nut file, replacing the string each time and testing. I rarely need to do more than three final strokes on each string.